Lake Shore Hospital AuthorityIndex

FLORIDA – March
15 through March 21 is the 10th anniversary of
Sunshine Week. Sunshine Week is an annual
national celebration of access to public
information and what it means to your community
and you. Reporter Glenn Marston was looking for
a good story. He came across the issues that
folks have obtaining public records from
Florida's Lake Shore Hospital Authority, located
in Columbia County.

COLUMBIA COUNTY/LAKE
CITY, FL – As Monday's Lake Shore Hospital Authority
meeting swung into gear it became obvious why Manager
Berry wouldn't allow public or press access to the
supporting material before the meeting. Moments after
Board Chair Lory Chancy gaveled the meeting to order,
she moved to have added to the agenda an item which had
been in the hands of the Authority for days, the Lake
City Police Offence Report against citizen Barbara
Lemley – the charge: Cyberstalking.

COLUMBIA COUNTY/LAKE
CITY, FL – Beginning on December 3, 2014, Governor
Scott's Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board and the Lake
City Police Department have been on a hunt for a
purported perpetrator, who according to Authority
Chieftain and Republican operative, Jackson P. "Jack"
Berry, represented the Hospital Authority. On Monday
night, February 9, 2015, the Scott Board voted to turn
the fruits of the LCPD Greear investigation over to the
Third Circuit's State Attorney, Jeff Siegmeister, for
prosecution, a decision which rests solely in his hands.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Lake Shore Hospital Authority
Manager, Jackson P. "Jack" Berry supervises a staff of
two people. Mr. Berry's total compensation package costs
approximately $109,000 a year. The Lake Shore Hospital
does not have a uniform requirement. Last month Governor
Scott's Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board paid $171
for embroidered shirts for Manager Berry. It is not
clear if the Board knew what it was doing. Board member
Janet Creel did. She signed the check.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
On Monday night, the Lake
Shore Hospital Authority was at
it again. Authority Manager,
Jackson P. "Jack" Berry, sprung
on the Board and the public a
request that the Authority Board
send a letter to the Florida
legislature requesting that the
Sunshine Law; Public Records
Law; Sale or Lease of a Public
Hospital Law; and the
Confidentiality of Hospital
Records and Meetings Law be
changed for them. The Board
wants to keep from the public
the value of its public hospital
and its discussions to sell it
until after it meets in secret
to seal a deal. It also wants to
keep the plan secret.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
With the resignation in June 2013 of Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Board member, Bruce Naylor, the Gov. Scott
appointed Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board has given
its $109,000 a year Manager, Jackson P. "Jack" Berry, a
virtual free pass to do anything he wants, which
includes not answering questions from the public. Mr.
Berry has made it clear that he will not answer any
question unless it is through a public record request.
If the answer can't be found in a public record, he
won't answer. If a public record is available
electronically, he will charge for copies, rather than
emailing it.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
A little over two weeks ago on December 8, Governor
Scott's Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board, relying on
the approved Authority policy, told Authority Manager
Jack Berry to keep the Authority open on the Fridays
after Christmas and New Year's. A request by Hosp Auth
Manager Berry to close the Authority on Friday, December
26, and Friday January 2 was denied by the Authority
Board. On Friday, December 19, an undated, unsigned sign
hanging from the front door of the Authority said the
Authority was closed on December 26.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Governor Rick Scott's Lake Shore Hospital Authority is
in the news again. During last week's Lake Shore
Hospital Authority meeting, Authority Manager, Jack
Berry, pulled off the agenda an item to approve the
Authority's website redesign. He told the Governor's
Board, "It seems that one of my guardian angels that
don't think I know how to do my job posted a ad on
Craigslist for a web designer and I got a whole pile of
emails in regards to it."

$4,950 so the indigent can view the
website on their iPhones?

Posted December 8, 2014 03:20 pm

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
On the Lake Shore Hosp Auth docket tonight are two items
of public interest: one under "unfinished business"
labeled "website update;" the other "action item"
labeled "website." Historically, the Authority provides
no other information to the public. Tonight is no
exception. It is not clear what the Governor
appointed Board will be reviewing, nor on what
they are voting. During the November 10, 2014
Authority meeting, Board Chair Lory Chancy told
the Board, "We do need to update our webpage and
put it on our new digital format with our new
server that offers digital."

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Monday night, Nov. 10, the
Lake Shore Hospital Authority hired a new
attorney to take the place of the retiring
Marlin Feagle, who told the Board he had been
the Authority Attorney for as long as he could
remember. During last month's October 13
meeting, Attorney Feagle and Mr. Berry said they
would begin the procedures to hire a
replacement. Authority Manager Berry did not put
out the public word; did not advertise the
position; did not post on the Authority website
that there was an opening; did not put out
either a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or a
Request for Proposals (RFP).

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Tonight at 5:15 pm the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority meets for its monthly meeting.
Available online, for the first time in the
history of this secretive special district, is
the complete agenda and the agenda packet, which
contains the printed material that the Governor
Scott appointed board uses in its decision
making process. The rules governing Florida's
Special Districts require that the Authority's
agendas "shall be published" on its website 7
days in advance of its meetings. The Lake Shore
Hospital Authority appears to have never been in
compliance.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night, Lake Shore
Hospital Authority Board Chairman, Dr.
Waseem Khan, sat by as Authority Manager,
Jackson P. “Jack” Berry, called the cops to
have thrown out from the Authority lobby and
into the street, 4 citizens. The Board had
gone into an executive (secret)session in
the Board room to discuss a public records
law suit. In an effort clearly designed to
save the face of Jackson P. "Jack" Berry,
one of North Central Florida's most
notorious political operatives, the Board
voted to appeal its losing Public Records
Decision to the 1st. District Court of
Appeals.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Florida's Lake Shore
Hospital Authority and Hospital Authority
Manager, Jackson P. "Jack" Berry, with the help
of Columbia County's cheerleading community
newspaper, the Lake City Reporter (LCR), known
as the Lake City Distorter – among other things,
has a historical problem separating fact from
fiction. While Sunday's LCR report of the
Authority saving $6mil might be half-true, the
report of Authority Manager Berry beginning the
Authority's prescription program is a lie.

COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – Last night's Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Final Budget Hearing was barely
intelligible as various budget lines were
recited at breakneck speed by the Authority's
long time accountant-financial advisor-external
auditor (all one person) Richard Powell. As in
years past, there was no PowerPoint presentation
or any kind of graphic to visually explain the
Authority's $9,214,975 budget. Former Authority
Board Chairman and Tallahassee political
insider, Koby Adams, who along with Authority
Manager Berry was not sure how many years the
tax rate had remained unchanged, complained that
the Board "would be vilified and ridiculed and
criticized" for saving the taxpayers money. The
meeting then went Deep South...

COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – This past Monday night, Governor
Scott's Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board
rubber stamped a $1,000 cash bonus for each of
its two regular employees. This was just the tip
of the iceberg. On top of the cash bonuses, one
received a 6.1% increase for 2015, and the other
26.32%. The increases go into effect October 1.
The Observer has also learned that 12 year Lake
City/Columbia County Chamber veteran, Sonja
Meads, is the new employee hired to replace Sue
Fraze, the recently terminated 18 year Authority
veteran.

COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – The info-graphic, assembled by the
Observer, is from the budget documents of the
Lake Shore Hospital Authority. It shows the salaries for
the last 5 fiscal years. The Executive Director
is Manager Jack Berry, whose job title was
changed so that his retirement pay could be
jacked up. As one can see, beginning in FY2015,
which begins on October 1, 2014, Mr. Berry's
retirement is costing Columbia County's tax
payers $16,897.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Dr. Waseem Khan, Chairman
of the Gov. Scott appointed Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Board, again ignored SB50, the Florida
legislation which specifically gives the public
the right to be heard before a board or
commission makes a final decision.
Last night, when resident Barbara Lemley took
exception to Dr. Khan's refusal to allow public
comment on a matter, which was suddenly to come
before the board for a vote, he told her, "Keep
your mouth closed." The rest of the Scott
appointed board did nothing as he asked her to
leave the meeting. Ms. Lemley left and called
the police.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The saga of the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority, overseen by Governor Rick
Scott's handpicked board, and administered by
former Authority board chairman, Jackson P.
"Jack" Berry, a republican political operative
and former Repo Man, continues. Authority
Manager Berry failed to follow the Florida
Special District Accountability Act for
advertising the Lake Shore Hospital Authority
meeting scheduled for tonight; failed to post a
notice that the September 8th meeting was
cancelled and rescheduled; failed to post the
tentative Authority budget on the Authority's
website; failed to post the Authority charter...

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Meeting scheduling of Columbia
County's infamous County 5 (The 5) has once
again given the back seat to Columbia County's
residents. In order for The 5 to make a
pilgrimage to rub shoulders with other county
commissioners at the Florida Association of
Counties (FAC), a lobbying group for Florida
Counties, it has rescheduled its September 18th
board meeting. It appears, that through no fault
of its own, the rescheduled County 5 meeting is
now at the same time as the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Budget Hearing, the special district
encompassing all of the County.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Manager Jackson P. "Jack" Berry, with
a blind eye from the Gov. Scott appointed
Authority board, has turned the screws on folks
wishing to view Hospital Authority agenda
material before its monthly meetings. Vice
Chairman Stephen Douglas seemed surprised when
he discovered that Manager Berry wouldn't
forward the previous meeting's minutes. Columbia
County resident, Ralph Kitchens, was threatened
with expulsion when he said he had asked for them.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The
Columbia County Department of Health (CCDOH) and
WellFlorida have partnered to improve health
outcomes in Columbia County. In August of 2013, CCDOH
Administrator, Mark Lander, formed the Columbia County
Health Advisory Panel (CHAP) whose membership is
composed of community and municipal partners ranging
from the Governor appointed Lake Shore Hospital
Authority, Columbia County and Lake City, health care
providers, Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of
the educational community.
In July, with the help of CHAP, the CCDOH and
WellFlorida developed a health survey to identify the
most pressing health issues in Columbia County. The
survey deadline is this Friday.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last Monday night, July
14, the Governor Scott appointed Lake Shore
Hospital Authority Board demonstrated again that
when it comes to transparency and accountability
it is the worst public agency in Columbia
County. The Authority Board members and its
General Manager, Jackson P. "Jack" Berry,
continue to refuse to answer questions from the
public; refuse to post agenda material on the
Authority website; and continue to make public
record access almost impossible by limiting
public record inspections to only one hour a
day, early in the morning. During Monday's July
14 meeting the Board came up with a new trick
when it approved the nonexistent consent agenda.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Monday night at the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority saw business as usual as the
secretive Governor Scott appointed Authority Board tried
to understand the valuation of Shands Lake Shore
Hospital, buildings, and the vacant land owned by the
people of Columbia County and managed by the Authority
board. CBiz, one of the nation's leading accounting
firms, did the evaluations. The evaluations, put
together in three different reports, cost
$62,000.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Years ago, before Lake Shore Hospital Authority
Manager Jackson P. "Jack" Berry became the
Authority's Records Custodian, obtaining records
from the Lake Shore Hospital Authority was
generally not an issue. With the advent of Mr.
Berry's consolidation of power, public records
access has become a serious issue. Recently, Mr.
Berry refused to release his background credit
report used in the Board's deliberation to hire
him. The First Amendment Foundation said this
was wrong.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
From 1996 thru 2014, Columbia County/Lake City
"hometown girl" Sue Fraze had been a loyal
employee of the Lake Shore Hospital Authority.
For 14 of those years, Ms. Fraze was the
Authority's only employee. On June 23, 2014,
after coming back from vacation, Ms. Fraze was
called into Authority Manager Jackson P. "Jack"
Berry's office and without warning was
terminated for insubordination. Ms. Fraze has
appealed her termination to the Authority Board.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On October 6, 2008,
present Lake Shore Hospital Manager, Jackson P.
"Jack" Berry, was Chairman of the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority (LSHA). Mr. Berry, who had
repeatedly demonstrated that he did not like
answering questions, had been stonewalling this
reporter's questions for some time. On the night
of October 6, 2008, your reporter posed a
question to the Board. When no one answered your
reporter inquired if the Board was allowed to
answer. Mr. Berry responded, ""If they’re free,
white and over twenty-one."

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night, the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority, one of Florida's most closed public
agencies, did
a virtual rerun of an issue presented in
May of 2013. At that time, Lake City OB/GYN,
Dr. Emad Atta, wanted to put a 1,300 sq. ft. prefab
doctor's office on a piece of downtown property bought
during the wild Jack Berry orchestrated 2006 Authority
downtown property buying spree. Last night, Dr. Atta came back with his proposal.
Manager Berry, who had a year to determine both the cost
of the property and its current value, came up
empty-handed. If he did know, he wasn't talking.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Jackson P. "Jack" Berry's Lake
Shore Hospital Authority (LSHA), with its Governor Scott
appointed board, remains one of the least
transparent public agencies in the State of
Florida. For years, the Governor's appointees
have not only shielded Mr. Berry from questions,
but ensured the latest Board minutes, and
everything else, would not be available on the
Authority's website before its meetings.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Last night at the Lake Shore Hospital Authority,
Authority Manager Jackson P. "Jack" Berry,
former Republican Party Chieftain and operative,
ignored long standing Authority policy when he
attempted to score a free room for the Columbia
County Republican Executive Committee's monthly
meetings at the Authority's Headquarters.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Last night, a woefully unprepared Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Board and General Manager visited the issue of
selling the Shands/Lake Shore Hospital. FL law mandates
a public hearing before the sale. Board Chairman and Gov
Scott reappointment, Dr. Waseem Khan, followed the
Authority practice of allowing no questions. Only one
person from the public spoke. By the conclusion of the
meeting it appeared that Columbia County's taxpayer's
will be paying for a long time to come.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night the Governor
appointed Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board continued
its secretive practices. Authority Manager Berry refused
to release the new meeting rule changes to the public.
Rep. Liz Porter's Chief of Staff, Koby Adams, also a
LSHA Board member, along with the rest of the Board,
also refused to reveal what the changes were. The Lake
City Reporter whitewashed the story. There are now three
Gov. Scott appointees on the Authority.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County
residents will get another bite of the apple
at 5:15 tonight when the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority will re-do this year's budget
hearing. The Governor appointed board will
have a chance to roll back the taxes from
the proposed 1.5 mils to the amount of its
choice. Due to mistakes in the published
legal notices the Florida Department of
Revenue has required the Lake Shore Hospital
to re-advertise and re-hold its FY 2014
budget hearing. The Hospital Authority
Manager, Jackson P. Berry, signed the Dept.
of Revenue forms and is responsible for the
management of the Authority.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Recently, former Lakeshore
Hospital Authority Board Chairman and Representative
Elizabeth Porter's Chief Legislative Aid, Koby Adams,
claimed that Lakeshore Hospital Authority Board members
are answerable to the Governor. In December of 2011, a
report to the Governor pointed out a host of issues
regarding independent taxing districts like the
Lake Shore Hospital Authority. One of the main issues
highlighted was oversight and accountability.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On Monday night, the
Lakeshore Hospital Authority met for its
regularly scheduled monthly meeting. For
weeks, the talk on the street was that the
Board would be discussing selling the
hospital. A look at the Authority agenda
only mentioned an item called planning for
the future. As if on cue, eleven minutes
into the meeting, Authority General Manager
Jack Berry told the Board, "I think the time
has arrived in the medical industry for the
taxpayers to seriously consider gettin' out
of the healthcare

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Late yesterday
afternoon, the Lakeshore Hospital
Authority's outside auditor, accountant, and
financial advisor, Richard Powel, presented
the Lakeshore Hospital Authority's FY 2014
budget. Mr. Powell explained that the
Authority “has a lease obligation for the
next 27 years that requires you to provide
1.5 mills.” Today, that 1.5 mills translates
into $3,331,227 that the Authority Board has
obligated the residents and business of
Columbia County to turn over to HMA this
year. The Board reached into Authority
reserves to keep the

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Tonight, at the million plus dollar ADA challenged
headquarters of the Lakeshore Hospital Authority, the
Governor appointed Board, which includes Representative
Elizabeth Porter's Chief Legislative Aid and past Board
Chair Koby Adams, will decide how deep they want to
reach into pockets of the citizens and business of
Columbia County when they will chose from three tax
rates. As of 5 a.m. this morning, missing from the
Authority website, which is under the control of the
iron fisted Authority Manager Jackson P "Jack" Berry,
are the three budgets from which the Board is going to
choose.

Public comments must
be allowed, but Authority bans photos

Posted September 16, 2013 03:20 pm

Columbia County, FL – One of the many anti
open and transparent government activities
of the Lakeshore Hospital Authority duo of
Jackson P. ("Jack") Berry, and
representative Elizabeth Porter's chief
legislative aide and Authority Board member,
Koby Adams, was finally foiled by the
passage of FL senate bill SB/HB 50, which
mandates public participation at Lakeshore
Hospital Authority Board meetings. The
Lakeshore Hospital Authority, whose board
members are appointed by the governor and
many believe should have disappeared years
ago, banned photos of it doing its official
business. Unable to ban photos before or
after their meetings convene, new Board
Chairman, Dr. Waseem Khan quipped, "We'll
pose for them."

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Former Jeb Bush appointee,
Lakeshore Hospital Authority Chieftain Jackson
P. Berry, is a legend in N. Central Florida. Mr.
Berry has survived public employment and ethics
issues and has a demonstrable history of not
liking to be challenged; told what to do; or
held up to public scrutiny for acts done as a
public official. During this year's Hospital
Authority budget cycle, Mr. Berry decided he
deserved a raise and ten additional paid days
off a year. This turned out to be too much for
the Governor's handpicked Board. When he didn't
get what he wanted he told the Board, "I would
just assume not have a contract." He will have
his chance. (file photo)

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Governor appointed
Lakeshore Hospital Authority Board did not
disappoint last night when they approved a 55.9%
tax increase; gave Hosp Auth Manager Berry a 5%
pay raise; banned photos when they are in
session; misrepresented the terms of the
indigent care lease provisions negotiated
between the Authority and HMA/Shands; and didn't
say a word when Manager Berry spoke to
HMA/Shands CEO Rhonda Sherrod like she was a
three year old in a demeaning and condescending
way.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
The Governor appointed board of the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority had been running one member short for over two
years until June 17th when board member and former bank
president Bruce Naylor resigned in a two sentence email
to Hosp Auth Manager Jack Berry: "I resign my position
as Trustee of the Lake Shore Hospital Authority
effective June 17, 2013. I wish the Authority and
Trustees the best in its future endeavors." Mr. Naylor
was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Monday night's Lake Shore Hospital Authority meeting had
the Old Generator Shop located in the heart of down town
Lake City once again percolating to the top of the
Authority's discussion as board member Stephen Douglas
kicked off a conversation on the future of the $230,000
albatross. Discussions with Authority Manager Berry's
doctor contacts had apparently fizzed.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The May 13th Lake Shore
Hospital Authority meeting continued to bring up
many issues that had been brewing since the
uncontrolled and ill fated real-estate buying
spree orchestrated and begun in 2006 by then
Authority Board member Jackson P. "Jack" Berry.
Today, real-estate values have plummeted. Jack
Berry went from Authority Board Chairman, no
pay, to General Manager of the Authority, a job
which pays almost $100,000 a year. Stuck with a
portfolio of property the Authority can't give
away, Manager Berry is now claiming his
plan-less buying spree was urban renewal, and he
is looking to

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County's Lake
Shore Hospital Authority, one of the special
purpose hospital districts that Governor Scott
was thinking about eliminating after he was
elected, lingers on as former republican
political operative and quintessential public
figure, Hospital Authority Manager Jackson P.
"Jack" Berry, finally took some heat from the
Governor appointed board after claiming he
failed to get a recent appraisal on the Shipp
property purchased in a wild property buying
spree in 2006.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Lake Shore Hospital
Authority has been one of Columbia County’s best
kept secrets for years. It is an independent
taxing district, run by a governor appointed
board, which is not answerable to the Columbia
County residents and businesses that pay the
taxes and the bills, one of which is the almost
$100,000 a year that goes to former Republican
Chieftain and Hospital Authority Manager,
Jackson P. “Jack” Berry.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Lake Shore Hospital Authority's (LSHA) Jackson P. "Jack"
Berry is North Florida's quintessential public figure
and public official. He is known far and wide through
political and public careers that span almost four
decades. Jack Berry has failed in quests for public
office multiple times. After being fired he sued the
Columbia County Sheriff in Federal Court for violating
his civil rights and lost. During the presidential
campaign of George W. Bush he bullied two little old
ladies because they

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Manager and quintessential public figure
Jackson P. "Jack" Berry failed to file state mandated
financial disclosures for 2010 and 2011 according to
both the Columbia County Supervisor of Elections Office
and the Florida Commission on Ethics. A recent public records request returned the
following response from the Sup. of Elections Office:
The Columbia County Supervisor of Elections does not
have Financial Disclosures for Jackson P. Berry for the
years 2010 and 2011.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night the
Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board began
the process of what soon may become the
great Lake Shore Hospital Authority land
giveaway. It considered what to do with part
of the millions of dollars of land it
purchased at the height of the real estate
bubble in the mid 2000's. By June of 2007,
the total purchase or appraised value of the
Authority's land deals was $3,699,320...

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Monday night's Lake Shore
Hospital Authority meeting blew by in 29 minutes, but
not before Authority Chairman Waseem Khan disposed of
the newly presented Authority "Rules of Protection", and
not before Board member and former bank president, Bruce
Naylor, questioned the propriety of Authority Manager,
"Jack" Jackson P. Berry, commenting to the local paper
about allegations presented on 60 Minutes.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – During the past fiscal
year, the secretive Lake Shore Hospital
Authority was presided over by Florida
Representative Elizabeth Porter's Chief of
Staff, Koby Adams. Mr. Adams, in an obvious
effort to protect his friend political operative
and

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Last night's final Lake Shore Hospital Authority budget
hearing had no surprises. Two members of the governor
appointed board, Bruce Naylor and Laurie Chancy were
missing without explanation for this important meeting.
Also missing was the man that prepared the budget, the
Authority's external auditor and account, Richard
Powell. The Authority's General Manager, Jackson P.
"Jack" Berry, prepared no additional information for the
public, other than a salary comparison and the printed
budget, which, as usual gave no year to year comparisons
of expenditures or revenues.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
The following is a notice which is concurrently being
sent to the Lake Shore Hospital Authority, Jackson P.
Berry and others regarding Mr. Berry's pending
litigation against the Columbia County Observer... I am
in receipt of various letters by you in representation
of your client, Jackson P. Berry... I do not waive
the defective notice; however, even before your proper
notice of the pending law suit, I am asking that you
carefully reexamine the alleged issues you seem to have
presented. I have not been served and I am requesting
that you withdraw this meritless action. However, if you
still feel it is

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Recently, the Columbia
County Observer, the online news source of
Columbia County, North Central Florida and
Florida news, came under attack by the Lake
Shore Hospital Authority's General Manager,
Jackson P. Berry, a quintessential public
figure, former head of the republican party, Jeb
Bush appointee to the Lake Shore Hosp Auth Board
and its past chairman, and present LSHA General
Manager.
Zurich Insurance, the global insurance
carrier, denied Mr. Berry liability insurance
and Mr. Berry is threatening a defamation law
suit, blaming the Columbia County Observer for
his woes. The FL Southern Christian Leadership
Conference told the Observer: "We will stand by
you."

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL –
Columbia County's Lake Shore Hospital Authority was a
forgotten entity for years until the Columbia County
Observer began to report on what was going on. It was
not a pretty sight. Authority board members and county
commissioners getting contracts; an outside accountant,
who for years has and continues to serve simultaneously
as the Authority's accountant and outside auditor; and a
former Authority board chairman, Jackson P. "Jack"
Berry, who resigned from the Board and months later
became it's part time manager – 24 unverified hrs. a
week for a total package worth approximately $60k a
year.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lake Shore Hospital Authority
Manager, Jackson P. "Jack" Berry, allowed last night's
scheduled Authority budget work shop to begin almost
twenty minutes early even though it was advertised on
the LSHA website calendar as beginning at 6 pm. Unlike in years
past, when there was a little bit of supporting
documentation, Mr. Berry was unprepared for the workshop
and his presentation reflected that. This year the
tentative budget didn't even have a label stating that
it was the proposed budget. The Lake Shore Hospital
Board is appointed by the Governor.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lake Shore Hospital
Authority General Council, Marlin Feagle,
announced at last night's monthly Authority
meeting that Jack (Jackson P.) Berry was dropped
from the Authority's D&O (Directors and
Officers) insurance policy. Mr. Feagle told the
Board that he was having trouble finding anyone
to insure Mr. Berry... "frankly it doesn't
look like it [insurance] is going to be
available for Mr. Berry..." Mr. Berry, a
quintessential public figure in Columbia County
since the 70s, blamed the internet. "Google my
name and you'll see what's there." The Observer
did.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Columbia County's
Lakeshore Hospital Authority has proven time and
time again that it does not represent the people
who foot the bill for its existence, the
taxpayers of Columbia County. Last night, this
Governor appointed board out did itself by first
banning public comment and then flaunting the
fact that the General Manager, past Republican
chieftain and political operative, Jackson P.
(Jack) Berry, could facilitate a secret
procurement process for professional services
without the knowledge of this handpicked board.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Lake Shore Hospital
Authority's Jackson P "Jack" Berry, the overpaid
past Republican Chieftain whose political
appointment put him at the helm of a job created
just for him, that of General Manager of the
Authority, continues to dig in and not make
agenda material available on the internet before
its monthly board meetings. With the support of
the Authority's Board members, the Authority
continues to be the only municipal corporation
in Columbia County that refuses to make its
agenda information readily available to the
public before its meetings.

Lake Shore Hospital Authority General Manager,
Jackson P Berry, was finally busted in April of
last year by the LCPD for illegally parking his
gas guzzling truck the wrong way in the street,
something he had been doing with impunity for
two years. In court documents recently
discovered by the Observer, Mr. Berry cried to
the judge, complained of selective enforcement
by the LCPD, and persecution by the Observer,
but where are the invisible cars he told County
Circuit Court Judge Tom Coleman about?

Half
way through last night's Lakeshore Hospital
Authority Board meeting, after telling the
Authority Board that he wanted to spend
$9,000 of taxpayer money for furniture so for
profit companies could use the Authority meeting
rooms for free, Authority Manager Jackson "Jack"
Berry told the Board he was having issues with
the Authority's City water bill. He said,
"There's no way on Gods green earth we'd be
putin that much water out. I've tried to explain
this to the City of Lake City, it's like talkin
to the wall."

On the City's docket tonight is Lake City's Franklin
Street Road project, which is designed to benefit the
Lakeshore Hospital Authority. Early in August, City
Manager Johnson voiced his approval of the project, but
was not in favor of the funding. Mr. Johnson told the Observer, "When the design is
finished it would be advantageous to the City Council and
the Hospital Authority to discuss the funding
arrangements. Mr. Berry has been opposed to this."

Neither the Governor appointed Lakeshore
Hospital Authority Board, nor its unqualified
and overpaid Authority Manager, “Jack” Jackson
P. Berry, disappointed Monday evening during
their yearly meaningless budget workshop. As in
prior years, there were no yearly budget
comparisons, power points or charts showing
revenues and expenditures over time. The Board
and Mr. Berry clearly felt that his monotone
reading of the budget was good enough for them
and the working families of Columbia County. Of
course, no one on the Board asked any questions
and the only discussion was about raising taxes.

This
story begins on June 13, 2011, when the
Lakeshore Hospital Authority decided to move
ahead with a 200 car capacity parking lot for
HMA/Shands employees. Columbia County taxpayers
will pay to build the parking lot and then the
Authority will lease the property to HMA/Shands,
apparently for nothing, giving them a free
parking lot. Hospital Authority Manager "Jack"
Jackson P. Berry explained to the Board that the
lot would be fenced and parking would be on the
grass. He said, "My estimated cost would be
around $35,000." (Photo: Jack Berry)

Sunday, July 10, the Palm Beach Post ran an article
describing the management style of
Florida's Gov. Rick Scott, the hospital industry and the
1.7 billion dollar Medicare fraud
which occurred when the Gov was in charge of HCA and
Solantic. The latest slight of hand
with LSHA reimbursements to HMA/Shands; the
unaccountability of the Gov appointed
Authority Board and its unqualified good ol' boy
manager, "Jack" Jackson P. Berry make this
mandatory reading.

After the Monday, June 13, 2011 Hosp Auth meeting,
the Observer met with Ms. Reeves in her son's living
room, where Ms. Reeves told your reporter, " I just knew
it wasn't going to do me no good to stand up there in
front of them. They are all good old boys up there."
¶ When the Observer asked, "How do you pay for your
medicine now?" Ms. Reeves replied, "I don't take it. I
can't afford to pay for it." (1
comment)

Monday night at Columbia County's Lakeshore
Hospital Authority, cancer survivor Saundra
Reeves, addressed the surprised Governor
appointed board and the Authority Manager,
"Jack" Jackson P. Berry. A visibly shaken Ms.
Reeves asked, "I want to know why Jack Berry can
discriminate against a person getting care? I am
a cancer patient. He said there is nothing he
can do for me. All I need is a primary care
doctor... Jack Berry hung up on me. I need to go
to the people above him. He told me nobody's
above him."

Appointed by
the Governor and now managed by the $100,000 a
year overpriced and ill equipped Board appointed
manager, repo man and past Republican chieftain,
"Jack" Jackson P. Berry, the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Board, now chaired by Rep. Liz
Porter's Chief of Staff, Koby Adams, has become
one of Florida's premier rogue public
authorities. (Observer file photo: Koby Adams)

When it comes to plain old good ol' boy
cronyism, Columbia County's Governor appointed
Lakeshore Hospital Authority Board takes a
backseat to no one in Florida. The words and
actions of both the Board and the newly
appointed full-time $100,000 a year, ill
equipped, and well connected ex Republican
Chieftain, Jackson (Jack) P. Berry, should put
everything these folks do into question. With
the real unemployment figures in Columbia County
approaching 20%, it is difficult to imagine how
a 48% profit on his health insurance premium

The newly crowned $100,000 a year Czar of the
Lakeshore Hospital Authority, former Republican
chieftain and good ol' boy, Jackson P. Berry,
just can't seem to get it right. Even though the
Lakeshore Hospital Authority has ample off
street parking, Mr. Berry found it necessary to
park his giant gas guzzler the wrong way and in
the traffic lane this past Thursday – again.
This time the
Lake City Police Department gave him a ticket.

Trying to
better his life, Hal DuPriest has been working
since he was 12 years old. Even though
qualified, his indigent care card, was pulled by
Columbia County's former repo man and
unqualified part time authority manager, Jack
Berry. Mr. DuPriest told the Observer: My income
is $550 every two weeks. I have a 15-year-old
living with me. The school is the most important
thing to me now, besides my daughter. This is a
safety net for me... I get a little bit of food
stamps for my 15-year-old. For extra money now I
pick up cans and sell the metal." (Photo:
Hal DuPriest)

Yesterday afternoon, Columbia County proved once
again that when it comes to good ol' boy
wizardry, the County hasn't lost its touch. At 2
pm, a committee consisting of Hosp Authority
Attorney, Marlin Feagle, Hosp Auth Financial
Advisor - Accountant - External Auditor, Richard
Powell, met with Columbia County Bank President
and LSHA Board member, Bruce Naylor, to decide
how much the unqualified – unverified former
Republican Chieftain, Jackson P. Berry, was to
make, as he transcended from board member, to
part time employee, to a full time employee, in
a job created by the County's good ol' boys,
just for him.

Columbia
County's good ol' boys didn't miss a beat last
night at the Lakeshore Hospital Authority's
monthly meeting. In a county where good
government has always taken a backseat to
political expediency, cronyism and bullying, the
Authority did not disappoint when it went off
its agenda, at the urging of Board Chairman Koby
Adams and appointed Columbia County's bad boy
and former Republican chieftain, Jack Berry, to
a full-time position for which he has
continually demonstrated he is uniquely
unqualified.

Last night's Lake Shore Hospital Authority meeting
proved once again that when it comes to paying attention
to the contract of a Columbia County good old boy, all
bets are off. Former Republican chieftain, Jack Berry,
who back-doored himself into a part-time position paying
60 + thousand dollars a year for 24 hrs a week, is now
looking to go on the public dole full-time.

It should prove to be interesting at Monday
night's Lake Shore Hospital Authority monthly
meeting. Obama style financing and Columbia
County's infamous Jack Berry top the Authority
chart... ¶it will be interesting to see how much
public money Mr. Berry and the Authority plan to
pump into these UF clinics to support UF's
private patients.

The budget also does not include actual
expenditures making it impossible to determine
how close the hospital authority came to its
proposed budgets... At last week's budget
hearing, Authority Chairman Vann explained that
Charles Briscoe (photo) had a private audience
with the Authority's Outside Auditor - Inside
Accountant Powell... With the Hospital Authority
floating on a sea of cash, it is obvious why
there haven't been any public explanations of
the kind that Charles Briscoe received
privately.

It was business as usual in Columbia County last
night as the good old boys of the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority dug in and turned their backs
on going out to get the best deal for the
residents of Columbia County at the County Owned
Hospital, Shands at Lakeshore... Lake City
Medical Center's Attorney, Stephen Ecenia's
(photo) explanations of the law fell on the
usual deaf ears.

Columbia
County's Lake Shore Hospital Authority is
entering a new phase with the recent acquisition
and partnership between leaseholder
Shands and
Hospital Management Associates. Lake Shore
Hospital Authority Chairman Marc Vann and
Authority Manager and former Chairman Jack Berry
spoke to the Observer regarding the
merger/takeover and the new lease agreement.

It was business as usual last night at the Lake
Shore Hospital Authority... when the Hospital
Authority picked the pockets of Columbia
County's working families to benefit the past
Republican Chief,
Mr. "Free – White – and Over
21" himself -- Jack Berry, hiring him as what
appears to be the nation's only part time
hospital authority manager. The hospital
authority... (2
comments)

Ex Republican Chief, Jack Berry,
got a bye instead of the boot, when Columbia
County's Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board failed
to consider its past chief's education references
and his inadequate resume, when it considered him
for a job that only months ago he used to do for
free.

No one was surprised last
night when the former Columbia County Republican Chief
and Hospital Authority Chairman, Jack Berry, was hired
by his old board to be the Authority's first paid
manager, just months after resigning from the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority. The Authority has two employees.

In August of 2009, Lake Shore Hospital
Authority Chairman, Jack Berry, began laying the
groundwork to establish the position of a part
time Hospital Authority executive director. He
told the Authority Board, at least the two who
showed up at the budget work shop, "You would
probably want whoever does that position to...

During the Lake Shore Hospital Authority December 14,
2009, regular meeting, newly installed Hospital
Authority Chairman, Marc Vann, decided that it would be
a good idea for the Hospital Authority to have a self
appreciation dinner on the tax payers' tab. This dinner
was to include the Board members, the LSHA staff and
everybody's spouses.

I
have been bound to a wheel chair my whole life and I can
assure you that to me and my wife, who can now only get
around in a wheel chair that ten feet can be like a
mile. Unfortunately, it appears that the local agency
that is responsible for seeing that the requirements of
the ADA are followed, the city of Lake City, has dropped
the ball and has for years been turning a blind eye on
this whole situation.

Former LSHA Chairman, Jack Berry, along with his
protégé, Columbia County Commissioner, contractor and
LSHA construction manager, Jody DuPree, didn't much care
about the American's With Disabilities Act during the
renovation of the old county jail, which became the
new and unnecessary headquarters of the LSHA. The new
regime under the leadership of Chairman Marc Vann is
doing a little better, but not much. (1
comment)

Photo:
Former LSHA Chairman, Jack Berry, had no problem
showing his distain for ADA requirements or the
Observer..

Columbia County’s iron fisted Lake Shore Hospital
Authority (“LSHA”) chairman, Jack Berry, has
demonstrated that for him, the letter and the spirit of
the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) doesn’t have
much influence. Mr. Berry’s secretive and totalitarian
rule has left the handicapped and physically challenged
as second class citizens at the LSHA campus in Columbia
County.

Lake Shore Hospital Authority (“LSHA”) Chairman, Jack
Berry, a man who claims that he gets his “orders from
the Governor,” hit a new low in a career of disregarding
the rights of others, when he called the Lake City
Police Department to come to the Hospital Authority to
remove the Observer for listening to a meeting. (file
photo)

The Observer told the Board: “There
are thirty thousand tax payers in the county that could
have questions about how the authority is run. My
question is, when they have a question and they come to
this board, how do they get an answer? You will not
answer any questions now from the public, which is
something new in my tenure of watching public officials.
I’ve never seen this before.” ¶ Chairman Berry sat silent, lips
pursed, as the Observer asked, “I guess you’re just not
going to answer?”

Glynell Presley of the NAACP said, “In
this day and age it is absolutely incredible to
think that someone appointed by the Governor
could say something like that. One must wonder
if Mr. Berry can see what is going on in America
today.

of money, Chairman, Jack Berry, former chairman
of the Columbia County Republican Party, former law
enforcement officer, and the losing party in a lawsuit
where he kept suing two County Commissioners for
testifying against him in court, showed his character
once again at the monthly meeting of the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority (the Authority) on October 6th by
disgracing all Americans and especially people of color.-----------------The Observer asked, “Mr. Chairman
is anybody allowed to answer any of these questions at
these meetings?”